The woes of Woodhead

[OldProf]

As mentioned in other threads, I've been writing a shunting scenario that takes place in the Wath yards of the Woodhead route -- make that, trying to write it. Usually, writing scenarios involves a lot of editing due to my own mistakes. In this case, however, I've spent the bulk of my editing time putting up with difficulties and errors built into the route.

For example, I wanted to use a Class 76 as the player engine, but quickly discovered that the majority of the Wath yard tracks are not electrified. This surprised me, but I simply switched engines, selecting instead the Class 08 that also came with the route. And this engine, combined with the route's track, especially turnouts, had been the source of numerous frustrations. Why? Simply because it causes scenario-ending "consist tilt" errors seemingly at random not only while crossing turnouts at anything above 9 mph, but also on absolutely straight stretches of track, and even while standing absolutely still.

As is my habit (or vice, perhaps), I've added a good deal of AI traffic, and that has also been problematic, not so much for the usual reason of mistaken editing on my part, but more due to random AI collisions. By random, I mean that they occur during one run-through of the scenario but not in the next without my having made any changes to their instructions.

Then there have been problems associated with what I can only call faulty rolling stock. Woodhead comes with the aforementioned Class 76 and 08 engines, a steam engine that has performed admirably, some passenger carriages, and several freight wagons. As I have noted in another thread, the Class 76 engine's lights are on even when it is placed as a stationary, driver-less unit, which not only looks ridiculous, but also creates a serious FPS drain. Some of the coal and mineral hoppers cannot be used actively in scenarios without assigning each one a new number; if this is not done, they cannot be picked up or dropped off successfully by a player train and cause crashes with a shunting AI train. Finally, the Brake Wagon is also "always on": its red tail marker glows and its stovepipe smokes even when it is not part of a running train.

Despite all of these impediments to success, I finally managed to run the scenario from beginning to end today (well, yes, with several restarts due to Class 08 consist tilt errors). Will this ever happen again? I honestly cannot say, but here are a few screenshots from this work in progress:











Coming soon to an RW3 installation near you ... maybe? ... I hope!

[railbard]

I run into that collision bug frequently playing various scenarios, always when passing AI at speed.

I note the various collisions, the scenario, the line, etc. and send them off, but I doubt they'll be fixed. It's irritating as all get out not to be able to complete scenarios.

The worst one was in the Cajon Pass route hauling a coal train. You get through the whole thing, and are pulling into the yard track to tie up--and BAM every time, you get kicked out of teh scenario by a collision on a track where nothing is within two tracks of you and the line ahead is clear. Tried that one SIX times before I gave up.

But the routes sure do look nice, and the scenarios sound like fun--on paper.

I look forward to trying yours when it's ready.

Kevin

[OldProf]

I'm happy to say that I finally put the finishing touches on my "Old King Coal" scenario for the Woodhead Line and that it is now available in the file library here. Woodhead is a beautiful route, but the German magazine that declared it the best RW route (or words in German to that effect) sure haven't tried to write scenarios for it! I keep looking at those enormous yard areas and trying to figure out what must have gone on in them. For example, the yard at Sheffield just screams "do some work here, wood ya?" There's even a section of "dockyard" sidings -- although it's located on what seems to be a man-made promontory quite high above a not-so-nearby river that would require some kind of catapult to carry out barge loading. There are several sizable piles of coal scattered around this area, but not a loader or un-loader in sight. Come to think of it, no cargo can actually be handled anywhere on this route, as far as I can see. Beauty may be its own excuse for being, but I'd like to see some actual labor being done. Guess it's time for "Fiction 101" again, eh?